Vancouver has just approved a 10.7% increase in property taxes as part of the operating budget for 2023. This increase came just a week after city staff proposed a lower 9.7% hike. Unexpectedly, during the first public meeting to discuss the budget this week, the council went ahead to approve the increase at a slightly higher level. The speedy decision was aided by an unexpectedly short list of public speakers and debate.
The amended property tax rates are expected to boost property taxes for the average single-family home by about $326, average condo owners by an additional $124, and business property owners are predicted to pay an estimated $549 more. This is based on the assessed value of the property. The increase in property taxes is the highest recorded in this century. The City’s operating budget is to rise to $1.97B in 2023, a sizable increase from $1.75B last year.
In justifying the council’s decision, Mayor Ken Sim said that the city had been left in a challenging position due to previous administrations choosing to underfund areas like sanitation services, road upkeep, public safety and infrastructure. He said that taxes had been maintained at artificially low levels that resulted in severely depleted cash reserves, more so due to the council’s spending during the pandemic.
Sim has said that the hike will go towards improving city services such as road works, infrastructure maintenance, sanitation, policing, and fire services. The extra percentage point added just before approval is expected to fund such services as grass and plant maintenance, cleaning grants to support plazas and parklets, and staff training of public library employees in crisis prevention and intervention.
While the swiftness of approving the hike and new budget raised some eyebrows, Vancouver Councillor, Mike Klassen, clarified that the council had decided to act more efficiently with time and the time of the public. He also defended the property taxes hike as being necessary to fund the core promises made during the election campaign. He however acknowledged that there were no efficiencies in the city’s budget, but that 100 days in office was not enough time to accomplish this goal.
ABC Vancouver Councillor, Brian Montague, also expressed support for the property taxes hike, stating that there was a need to try and deal with the earlier Council decisions. Though he termed the hike a difficult pill to swallow, Montague felt it was still the correct decision.
Meanwhile, further east, the City of Surrey is considering an even higher property taxes hike of 17.5% that is being proposed to cover deficits caused by inflation, deferred pandemic-time spending and police force transition from RCMP to municipal police.
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